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324 | ChAPter 8 AdvAnced Modeling And MAssing

If you want to learn more about expanding the use of the divided surfaces on massing forms,
go to Chapter 12, “Creating Walls and Curtain Walls.” In that chapter, we discuss the modeling
techniques to create custom panel families and how to apply them to pattern-based curtain
walls.
Creating interesting and complex massing studies that can be parametrically controlled isn’t
just a skill developed over time. The rules that you develop to make and reiterate your designs
are also carefully considered aesthetic choices to make decisions rather than blobs! To see this
file, go to the Chapter 8 folder and download c08-Formula-Massing-Project_Finished.rvt.
Be sure to turn on Show Mass Form And Floors from the Massing & Site tab if it’s not turned on
when you open the file.

The Bottom Line

Create and schedule massing studies. Starting the design process with actual building ele-
ments can lead to a lot of unexpected frustration. Walls lead to rooms, which get room tags
and eventually scheduled. But if you’ve failed to fulfill the client’s program, you’ll wonder
where to start over!
Master It You’re faced with creating some design studies of a large hospital complex.
How would you go about creating a Revit project that would allow you to create a mass-
ing study and schedule it against the design client’s program?
Know when to use solid and surface masses. While solid masses and surface masses can
both be used to maintain relationships to host geometry like walls and roofs, surface masses
can’t be volumetrically scheduled or contain floor area faces.
Master It You’ve been asked to create a complex canopy system for the entry to a hotel
project. The system will consist of a complex wave of triangular panels. What kind of
mass would you create?
Use mathematical formulas for massing. Not all massing is going to involve intuitive,
in-the-moment decision making. By discovering the underlying rules that express a form, it
is possible to create the formulas that can iterate and manipulate your massing study.
So rather than manually manipulating the mass, you manipulate the formulas related to
your mass.
Master It What’s the best way to discover and create these formulas?

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